


Cast Iron // Soft/Domestic (Rangshi Week 2020)

by Disasterkyoshi



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/F, I tried to make something funny, soft/domestic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-19
Updated: 2020-09-19
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:34:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26550724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Disasterkyoshi/pseuds/Disasterkyoshi
Summary: Day 2 of Rangshi Week 2020!Rangi tries to do something nice for Kyoshi and it goes horribly wrong.
Relationships: Kyoshi/Rangi (Avatar)
Comments: 15
Kudos: 72





	Cast Iron // Soft/Domestic (Rangshi Week 2020)

Rangi was taught from a young age to clean up after herself. From her mother reminding her “not to leave a trace” of herself when leaving the places she resided to the Royal Academy enforcing several of the military’s meticulous standards as preparation for what’s to come, Rangi had grown accustomed to leaving everything in place exactly how it was when she got there. However, there were some places which she never learned proper cleaning etiquette for, primarily pertaining to the kitchen.

In the Junior Corps, Rangi got a small glimpse of how to cook and clean for herself out on duty. Without a kitchen widely available for her to cook in, she was taught to kindle fires and roast meats above the open flames. On the rare occasion that a pot or pan was used, she was taught to hastily clean the equipment before drying over an open flame and packing away. She had no concept of several key concepts to cleaning could actually do.

“I just don’t understand why you’ve left the stock pot in the sink for so long,” Rangi snapped one morning after seeing the mess left in the kitchen sink. She pinched the bridge of her nose between her fingers. “Don’t you know how to clean as you go?”

“Rangi, I’ve explained this to you at _least_ a hundred times by now,” Kyoshi pleaded, “it needs to soak. Cooking jook leaves this residue all over the inside of the pot! Do you see it?”

Kyoshi gestured towards the inside of the stock pot. The interior walls were coated in a translucent white film. Rangi frowned and furrowed her brow, refusing to accept that she was wrong.

“I just don’t see why you can’t scrub it off,” she muttered.

Kyoshi sighed with frustration as she decided this argument wasn’t worth continuing on. They’ve had this exact discussion so many times at this point that they both had lost count. Rangi knew Kyoshi would be lying to herself if she didn’t admit that it was a little humorous to see her so perplexed by such a seemingly simple idea. Not to mention that, for how often Rangi found herself in the kitchen ranting about everything they’re doing wrong, she seldom did anything to fix the problems she saw.

As Rangi stormed out of the kitchen with all but steam emitting from her ears, Kyoshi couldn’t help but smile and shake her head as she continued to clean up the rest of the kitchen. She was sure, in due time, that Rangi would learn proper kitchen etiquette. She just needed to admit that she didn’t know everything about a subject for once. That part, Kyoshi thought, was going to be the hardest part of teaching her firebender.

Cleaning up in the kitchen confused Rangi for a number of reasons. Namely, she detested how many rules there seemed to be about how to clean pots.

 _Why does one need to soak but this other one is good to scrub and put away?_ She thought to herself, _why to some pots need to air dry while others get toweled off and put away? None of this makes sense._

Rangi needed to stop herself from thinking about all the ins-and-outs of the kitchen for a moment. Spending too long festering over all these seemingly stupid rules often left her feeling furious over the most mundane activities. With the principles of “clean as you go” ingrained in her head, Rangi _hated_ the idea of letting dishes soak. Nothing set her off more than the idea of letting something sit in water, taking up space and creating an eyesore. It left her fuming every time. Even thinking about all the residual food caked onto the pots and pans as water made the indistinguishable textures expand and dissipate left Rangi feeling queasy. And to add to her annoyance, Kyoshi seemed to have no problem letting the cookware sit overnight. _Kyoshi,_ who was renowned for keeping her spaces pristine, was letting a space go with imperfections still present.

Rangi avoided the kitchen for the rest of the day. They had invited Hei-Ran to stay for a few days and spend some time with her granddaughter. Of course, Hei-Ran was happy to oblige. With her mother spending every moment doting on their daughter, she spent her time enjoying the calmness with Kyoshi. It was one of those rare days where they had nothing to do and nowhere to be. All that was asked of them was to merely relax in their home and to bask in the peace for once.

Kyoshi had even planned out a full dinner for the family. Although she still had a small kitchen staff, she often liked to busy herself by cooking with them or sometimes even alone. Her argument was always the same.

“Why should I make them work when I know I can do it myself and make it better than they ever could?”

It always made Rangi smile. Kyoshi tried to hide her real feelings with brushing it off as merely wanting things done right, but Rangi knew Kyoshi didn’t know how to sit still. She physically couldn’t let anyone dote on her the way that so many others wished they could be. And with Hei-Ran present in their home, Kyoshi wanted to make a special meal for her family. It was customary at this point. Rangi knew Kyoshi always wanted to thank Hei-Ran for accepting her into their family so easily. It was something that always made Rangi feel so grateful.

As Kyoshi made her way to the kitchen to start preparing for dinner, Rangi made note to do something to show her appreciation. She decided she would clean the dishes left over after their meal was finished, both proving her point that _pots don’t need to soak_ and also thanking her wife for her generous hospitality towards her mother.

* * *

Kyoshi had made a large assortment of foods for their night. From stalknose mushrooms to a heaping assortment of grilled meats, Rangi found herself in awe of the meal presented to her. Kyoshi had truly outdone herself this time. As she took her seat at the table with the rest of the family, Rangi reached out and pulled Kyoshi in for a kiss. She beamed up at her beloved wife in a silent display of gratitude, not a care in the world but for the woman in front of her. Even their daughter’s loud, giggling exclamation of disgust followed by Hei-Ran’s attempt to shush her went unnoticed in that moment. Kyoshi smiled and nodded slightly as she proceeded to take her seat.

The table was filled with the entire gang. From Atuat and Hei-Ran to Jinpa and the Flying Opera Company, not a soul would go hungry that evening. It was a rare occasion that everyone could gather together on this evening without the preface of a festival or special occasion. It was merely just a family dinner, and Rangi couldn’t be more grateful for this peaceful moment. 

Rangi snuck herself off into the kitchen before anyone noticed she was missing. She wanted to make sure she could get away with her surprise for as long as possible.

Upon arriving in the kitchen, Rangi was met with mostly cleared countertops, but the sink had a few smaller pots and pans in it, as well as one large wok. They all looked relatively clean all things considered. Rolling her eyes, Rangi got started on the cookware left piled up in the sink.

 _These aren’t even dirty,_ she argued to herself, _I mean really, Kyoshi._

Once she had finished the dishes left in the sink, Rangi dried her hands off on the towel resting beside her. Turning around, she spotted one final pan sitting on the stove. It was a textured black. As she neared the stovetop, she noticed the glossy sheen it gave off, as if it were sitting with a pool of oil in it. However, when Rangi lifted the skillet, she noticed no liquid moved inside the core, meaning the oil was layered on, having been there for an excessive amount of time. Rangi wanted to retch. It was a surprise to her that the scent of stale oil wasn’t emitting form the pan’s glossy composition.

The sheer heft of the metal skillet was also a shock to Rangi. It almost felt like wielding a sword. The base of the pan couldn’t fit much more than her hand inside it. The weight felt unfit for such a small piece of equipment. Regardless, Rangi placed it in the base of the sink, pouring water over the heavy metal cookware. She grabbed a rag and the bar of soap and proceeded to start scrubbing aggressively at the pan. Suds quickly engulfed both the pan and Rangi’s hands alike.

Just as she was making progress on the pan, Rangi heard someone enter the kitchen. She looked up to see Kyoshi, a puzzled look taken over her face.

“The amount of oil you let build up on this pan is disgraceful,” Rangi grinned. Her cheerful chiding was lost on Kyoshi. Rangi could see her wife working out which pan she was talking about. She watched Kyoshi’s eyes move from the sink around the kitchen until she met the empty space where the black pan had been sitting on the stove.

In an instant, Kyoshi’s brow went from furrowed to raise. Her expression fell into complete shock. Pupils pinning as the sudden realization of what was beneath the suds in the sink started to set in her head.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” Kyoshi yelled.

Her voice was shrill and panicked in a way Rangi had never heard before. The sudden shock being taken towards her was enough to make her drop the dish in the sink. She looked at her wife, absolutely lost as to what was so dire about this situation.

“I was just–” Rangi started as she picked up her rag and the pot to continue scrubbing.

“STOP, STOP! YOU’RE KILLING IT.” Kyoshi’s tone was pained, pleading. It was as if Rangi were drowning someone in the sink. She rushed over to where Rangi stood, pouring water over the pan in hand. She grabbed the skillet and clutched it in her arms. Tears were threatening to break from Kyoshi’s eyes.

At this point, the others around their home had heard the commotion. Hei-Ran, Koko, and Atuat were the first to come to the sound of panic. Upon their arrival, they saw Kyoshi kneeling on the ground facing Rangi, whose expression was blank with shock and confusion, still trying to comprehend what just happened. She was fairly certain Kyoshi hadn’t even held her that tightly after she had been hurt by Yun. This all felt extremely dramatic.

“You can’t use soap on these pans!”

Rangi shook her head, furrowing her brow in disbelief.

“What do you mean you can’t use soap on this?! It’s a pan; that’s how you clean pans!” Rangi had no clue what was going on.

“Not these pans! This is cast iron!”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

Kyoshi took a deep breath before answering. She needed to compose herself. Clutching the pot in her arms, she stood up again to talk to Rangi.

“Cast iron is a special type of pan, skillet, pot, you name it. They can be used at significantly hotter temperatures than normal pots and pans, and they require special care to take care of them. Namely, you can’t use soap on them. It removes the oil built up on the pan that makes it so excellent with cooking.”

“That makes no sense,” Rangi fired back, “why does there need to be so much oil on the pan?”

Before Kyoshi could answer, Rangi grabbed the pan back and proceeded to try and place the dish on the drying rack. 

“STOP! NO! You can’t do that! It’s going to rust. You need to towel dry it and then set it over a gentle flame.”

Rangi emitted a defeated sigh, grabbing the dry towel beside her. This all felt excessive for a pan. She hastily wiped the skillet down and pointed one finger towards it, engulfing the metal skillet in a red flame.

“Not like that! _Gentle_ flame,” Kyoshi cried out.

Before any more damage could be done to the poor, innocent skillet, Auntie Mui intervened and grabbed the skillet out of Rangi’s hands. She walked over to the stove and turned the gas range on to the gentlest flame it could emit. Barely a flame was lit underneath the grate that the skillet sat on.

“I have it from here on out,” Auntie Mui said, finally, “you two, leave.”

She proceeded to shoo the two of them out past the door, where Kirima and Wong stood chuckling to themselves. The embarrassment over what just happened in the kitchen was enough to make Rangi wish she could merely disappear from everyone until this fiasco died down.

After that incident, the group collectively agreed that it was best for Rangi to never enter the kitchen, supervised or unsupervised.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I really hope this read as funny. I haven't written anything comedic in...upwards of six years? 
> 
> ANYWAYS, I really appreciate you all for reading! Thank you again!! :)
> 
> This fic was brought to you by the fact that i pair bonded with my first cast-iron skillet. 7 years later and it's still my primary method of cooking. If anything happened to my cast iron i would absolutely lose my mind.


End file.
